Multi-agent systems are a mature approach to model complex software systems by means of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE). However, their application is not widely accepted in mainstream software engineering. Parallel to this the interdisciplinary field of Agent-based Social Simulation (ABSS) finds increasing recognition beyond the purely academic realm which starts to draw attention from the mainstream of agent researchers. This work analyzes factors to improve the uptake of AOSE as well as characteristics which separate the two fields AOSE and ABSS to understand their gap. Based on the efficiency-oriented micro-agent concept of the Otago Agent Platform (OPAL) we have constructed a new modern and self-contained micro-agent platform called ÂµÂ². The design takes technological trends into account and integrates representative technologies, such as the functionally-inspired JVM language Clojure (with its Transactional Memory), asynchronous message passing frameworks and the mobile application platform Android. The mobile version of the platform shows an innovative approach to allow direct interaction between Android application components and micro-agents by mapping their related internal communication mechanisms. This empowers micro-agents to exploit virtually any capability of mobile devices for intelligent agent-based applications, robotics or simply act as a distributed middleware. Additionally, relevant platform components for the support of social simulations are identified and partially implemented. To show the usability of the platform for simulation purposes an interaction-centric scenario representing group shaping processes in a multi-cultural context is provided. The scenario is based on Hofstede's concept of 'Cultural Dimensions'. It does not only confirm the applicability of the platform for simulations but also reveals interesting patterns for culturally augmented in- and out-group agents. This explorative research advocates the potential of micro-agents as a powerful general system modelling mechanism while bridging the convergence between mobile and desktop systems. The results stimulate future work on the micro-agent concept itself, the suggested platform and the deeper exploration of mechanisms for seemless interaction of micro-agents with mobile environments. Last but not least the further elaboration of the simulation model as well as its use to augment intelligent agents with cultural aspects offer promising perspectives for future research.

Knowledge compilation is a common technique for propositional logic knowledge bases. A given knowledge base is transformed into a normal form, for which queries can be answered efficiently. This precompilation step is expensive, but it only has to be performed once. We apply this technique to concepts defined in the Description Logic ALC. We introduce a normal form called linkless normal form for ALC concepts and discuss an efficient satisability test for concepts given in this normal form. Furthermore, we will show how to efficiently calculate uniform interpolants of precompiled concepts w.r.t. a given signature.

This paper has a twofold concern. First, to show that probability propagation nets (PPNs) can be derived from formulae for conditional probabilities. Second, to show that PPNs are usable for (local) propagations of mass distributions, too, if the inscriptions are suitably adapted.

This thesis introduces fnnlib, a C++ library for recurrent neural network simulations that I developed between October 2009 and March 2010 at Osaka University's Graduate School of Engineering. After covering the theory behind recurrent neural networks, backpropagation through time, recurrent neural networks with parametric bias, continuous-time recurrent neural networks, and echo state networks, the design of the library is explained. All of the classes as well as their interrelationships are presented along with reasons as to why certain design decisions were made. Towards the end of the thesis, a small practical example is shown. Also, fnnlib is compared to other neural network libraries.

The basic assumption of this study is that specific cultural conditions may lead to psychopathological reactions through which an increase in interpersonal violence may happen. The objective of this study was to define to what extent homicide rates across national cultures might be associated with the strength of their attitudes toward specific beliefs and values, and their scores in specific cultural dimensions. To answer this question, nine independent variables were defined six of which were related to the people- attitudes pertaining importance of religion (Religiosity), excessive feeling of choice and control (Omnipotence), clear-cut distinction between good and evil (Absolutism), proud of their nationality (Nationalism), approval of competition (Competitiveness), and high respect for authorities and emphasis on obedience (Authoritarianism). The data for these variables were collected from World Values Survey. For two cultural dimensions, Collectivism, and Power Distance, Hofstede- scores were used. The 9th variable was GNI per capita. After estimation of 7% missing values in the whole data through multiple imputation, a sample of 81 nations was used for further statistical analyses.
Results: Stepwise regression analysis indicated Omnipotence and GNI as the strongest predictors of homicide (β = .44 P = .000; β = -.27 P = .006 respectively). The 9 independent variables were loaded on two factors, socio-economic development (SED) and psycho-cultural factor (Psy-Cul), which were negatively correlated (-.47). The Psy-Cul was interpreted as an indicator of narcissism, and a mediator between SED and homicide. Hierarchical cluster analysis made a clear distinction among three main groups of Western, Developing, and post-Communist nations on the basis of the two factors.

This thesis presents an analysis of API usage in a large corpus of Java software retrieved from the open source repositories hosted at SourceForge. Most larger software projects use software libraries, which offer a public "application programming interface" or API as an interface for the programmer. In order to facilitate the transition between different APIs, there are emerging research projects in the field of automated API migration. However, there is a lack of basic statistical background information about in-the-wild usage of APIs as such measurements have, until now, only been done on rather small corpora. We thus present an analysis method suitable for measurements with large corpora. First, we create a corpus of open source projects hosted on SourceForge, as well as a corpus of software libraries. Then, all projects in the corpus are compiled with an instrumented compiler. We use a compiler plugin for javac that gives detailed information about every method created by the compiler. This information is stored in a database and analyzed.